Canada needs to get off coal

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 09/08/2021 (1699 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LATE in June, a small Free Press article (”Coal companies hope to move forward despite roadblocks,” June 22) went largely unnoticed yet spoke volumes about why Canada in general, and the federal Liberal government in particular, have failed so badly on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

As everyone now knows, Canada’s most recent data for 2019 show emissions went up, again. This has placed Canada in a dubious and awkward position amongst the G7, as the only such country having emissions increase consistently year on year since 2015, when the Paris Agreement was adopted. Canada’s reality is, unfortunately, quite different from rosy pronouncements in Ottawa.

The article dealt with proposed new coal-mine projects in the Alberta foothills. Serious problems were, appropriately, identified regarding these mines by the federal minister, including greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and selenium contamination. It was further reported that a joint federal-provincial review panel found environmental risks for one of the proposed mines outweigh its potential benefits.

The mining of coal can be environmentally problematic, especially the massive resulting GHG emissions. Turning down any such proposed coal mine is thus likely positive from an environmental perspective. There is more to the story, however, given that in this case all Alberta appeared to desire was to jump on the same lucrative bandwagon — or, in this case “coal-wagon” — that neighbouring British Columbia has been cashing in on for years.

Therein lies the problem, with the appearance of dramatic inconsistencies in how B.C. and Alberta have been treated by the same federal government, based on almost the same types of mining projects and applications. In 2017, then-federal environment and climate change minister Catherine McKenna approved construction of the brand-new Murray River coal mine in B.C., with capacity somewhat larger than the two proposed projects in Alberta combined.

The mining of coal can be environmentally problematic, especially the massive

resulting GHG emissions.

Turning down any such

proposed coal mine is thus likely positive from an

environmental perspective.

McKenna also commented around the same time that the federal government had no plans whatsoever to shutter B.C.’s coal mines. Canada needs one set of environmental rules for everyone, based on science, not two, based on the politics of the jurisdictions involved.

A few years ago, as part of other investigations, MBA students from the Asper School of Business looked more closely at coal mining in B. C. It has been a booming business, with that province now the largest export point for coal in all North America. Students found roughly 30 million tonnes per year was mined in B.C., a massive amount. But it does not end there.

Upwards of 10 million tonnes per year were imported from the U.S. for further export. Importantly, the coal shipments from the U.S. were deemed too dangerous by both Washington and Oregon to permit ship-based export from either state. Selenium contamination in waterways has also been an ongoing serious concern raised to B.C. by neighbouring Washington state.

Regarding GHG emissions, all coal exports from B.C. are ultimately burned, whether for power generation or steel production. The resulting combustion emissions are very large, representing much more than 10 per cent of Canada’s current reported emissions.

If Canada is to reach its Paris Agreement target by 2030, we need to get off coal. Indeed, unlike carbon taxation, which has never resulted in practical emission reductions, getting off coal has already been shown as a successful policy for reducing emissions in provinces exhibiting long-term declines, notably, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario. Everyone must do their part, and the federal Liberal government simply cannot play political favourites.

Robert Parsons teaches sustainability economics and quantitative methods at the I.H. Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba.